Amid border stand-off, Chinese ships on prowl in Indian Ocean

Far away from the virtually eyeball-to-eyeball India-China confrontation on the land border, which many believe will eventually ease with “some sort of mutual troop pull-back from the forward positions”, India and China are also currently engaged in shadow-boxing on the high seas in the IOR.

| TNN | Updated: Jul 4, 2017, 18:54 IST

Highlights

India and China are also currently engaged in shadow-boxing on the high seas in the IOR.

A Chinese Yuan-class conventional submarine is prowling in Indian Ocean.

This is the 7th Chinese submarine to enter the region since December 2013.

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NEW DELHI: The India-China
military stand-off
+ seems set for a long haul with China responding to defence minister Arun Jaitley’s remark that
India is not what it was in 1962
+ by saying
neither was China
+ and the developments coinciding with unusual activity of Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean.
Jaitley’s comment was a reaction to
China’s blunt reminder
+ that India should not forget the “historical lessons” of the 1962 war which ended badly for India. On Monday, the rhetoric grew more heated with the Chinese spokesperson noting China too is different and will take “all necessary measures” to safeguard its territorial sovereignty, a PTI report from Beijing said.

The sharp exchange comes as Indian and Chinese soldiers have dug into positions and pitched tents in anticipation of a prolonged confrontation near the Sikkim-Bhutan-Tibet trijunction, even as the Navy is closely monitoring “an unusual surge” in the number of Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Far away from this virtually eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation on the land border, which many believe will eventually ease with “some sort of mutual troop pull-back from the forward positions”, India and China are also currently engaged in shadow-boxing on the high seas in the IOR.

“Indian naval satellite Rukmini (Gsat-7), long-range maritime patrol aircraft like Poseidon-8I and warships have monitored at least 13 Chinese naval units in the IOR over the last two months. They range from the latest Luyang-III class guided-missile destroyers to the more benign hydrographic research vessels,” said a source.
Read this story in Marathi

In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said the Sino-India border in the Sikkim sector is well demarcated and said
India had “trespassed”
+ into Chinese territory. But while claiming the construction of a road — the bone of contention — was legitimate activity, China has chosen to ignore Bhutan’s protest that its land has been encroached upon.

With the two armies unwilling to budge from their positions on the Doklam plateau, which is actually Bhutanese territory but being claimed by China to construct a motorable road towards the Doka La area held by Indian troops, sources say diplomatic hotlines are now working overtime to resolve the almost month-long troop confrontation in the remote border region. “It will have to resolved diplomatically. The two armies are playing the waiting game to see if the other side blinks first. As demanded by India and Bhutan, China should restore the status quo that it unilaterally disrupted by entering the Doklam area to construct the road,” said a source.

As was first reported by TOI last week, both the armies have reinforced their positions in the region by pumping in more troops and setting up logistic chains for food and other supplies. The “pro-active stance” adopted by Indian troops on the ground, in defence of Bhutanese territory because it has “serious security implications” for India as well, has led Beijing to sharpen its public rhetoric against New Delhi.

But the Indian defence establishment is undeterred, with its troops holding the militarily stronger position in the area. “Indian Army’s border management posture in the region, which includes the Doka La and Nathu La general areas, is geared to cater for any contingency,” said another source.

With regard to developments in the Indian Ocean, a Chinese Yuan-class conventional submarine is also prowling the waters, after an operational turnaround in Karachi and backed by support vessel Chongmingdao, since April. This is the seventh Chinese submarine to enter the region—China usually alternates a nuclear submarine with a diesel-electric one — since December 2013, as first reported by TOI in May.

Interestingly, a Chinese intelligence-gathering ship Haiwingxing is also reported to have entered IOR last week to snoop on the India-US-Japan Malabar naval exercise in the Bay of Bengal from next week. China has deployed such ships in the past also to keep tabs on the Malabar exercise, which it suspects is a naval grouping aimed to contain its growing influence.

“The fast pace of construction of the Chinese base and support facility at Djibouti will only add to its capability to sustain its naval units in the IOR,” said the source, adding that China’s maritime surge in the region might have been planned to dovetail with its push along the sensitive tri-junction area on land.

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